Forever and a Day
by aervien
Summary: [OujirouMisaki] Will you wait for me, Misaki?


**(Disclaimer)** I do not own Angelic Layer. Characters and setting copyrighted to CLAMP. All rights reserved, etc, etc. The plot and any character unrecognizable from the manga or anime are mine as well. Please do not use anything that falls underneath those categories without my permission.

**(Written)**_ Start:_ July 11, 2006 5:07 PM EST _End_: July 12, 2006 4:53 PM EST

**(Published) **July 13, 2006 4:21 PM EST

**(Word Count)** 1123

**(Author's Note)** This is a requested fic for **mithlin megil**, from LJ. Happy birthday, Mithlin! (n.n)

Unlike my usual fandoms, this is for the _Angelic Layer_ fandom, by CLAMP. The pairing is **Oujirou x Misaki.** Not exactly a fairytale ending, but I hope you like it anyways. I was listening to _First Love _by Utada Hikaru while writing this. It really fits the mood. (n.n)Enjoy!

* * *

**Forever and a Day  
**_Taiyoukai Lady_

* * *

It was amazing, really, how famous she was now. A few months before, she just another person in the world who nobody really knew existed. Now, she and Hikaru were nationwide heroes. It didn't make much sense to her, but then again, she supposed that life never made much sense in the first place.

Still, there were some things that Misaki would be quite willing to trade away all her fame and fortune for. Some things that just couldn't be won in the layer. Some things that had nothing to do with battling with her angel, or defeating the opponent, or being an Angelic Layer prodigy. Some things that just couldn't be as simple to get as her angel was.

She didn't even know when it had started, this infatuation. Maybe it started when she beat him in the layer for the first time. Maybe it started when he first joined her for dance training. Either way, it had started, and it had grown into something much, much more.

There were some things that just couldn't be won with battle tactics and a fighting instinct.

Oujirou's love was one of them.

-

"Let's have a good match, eh, Misaki?" he smiled at her from across layer.

She smiled back, "Of course!" Her voice was just as cheerful as always, just as bouncy and hyperactive, just as lighthearted as she always was. But she could hear the longing in her voice, buried deep within, could hear the wistful wishing, inaudible against the cheers of the crowd as the timer started.

She rushed Hikaru forward, intent on ending this match quickly. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her for any hint of attack. She refused to allow him to win, staring back with equal intensity.

As their angels danced once more in the layer, Misaki found herself mesmerized by the depths of Oujirou's eyes. For her, there was no color, no shine, nothing. Just a deep, vast pool of emotion and feelings that she would willingly drown in, if only she could.

The scream of the fans echoed around them, but in their world, there was only them and the layer. Somehow, in some way, Misaki was Hikaru, just as Oujirou was Wizard. It was themselves in the layer, fighting, dancing. The attacks, the dodges, the blocks; they were all a part of them. Some distant part of their soul had long since merged with their angels. Misaki felt a jolt in her blood every time Hikaru made contact with Wizard, every time they traded punches or kicks.

This was the only way she could get close to him, in the layer. Their angels danced, but in a way, it was their souls that were dancing together. Misaki would willingly enter every single competition in the world, defeat every single angel she came across, if only she could spend a second with him like this.

When the match ended, and it was declared that Hikaru had won, Misaki only felt a deep loss, and hoped fervently for another chance with him on the layer.

-

Days past. Sometimes she would fight him, sometimes she would fight with other people. She defeated everyone with a routine that was occasionally edited to accommodate new items, or new battle tactics, but the only one who ever drew out her heart into the layer was him.

They were the champions, undefeated by anyone but the other and Athena. Everybody wanted to challenge them, but nobody ever succeeded. They were god and goddess of Angelic Layer, and there was no doubt they would stay that way unless another prodigy appeared, something that grew less likely with time.

Still, the tournaments passed, one by one. She battled him, sometimes losing, sometimes winning. Every time the match ended, she felt that same hollowness that would only be filled when they met again. She tried to focus on boys at her school, but she would always find something wrong with them. She tried to demean him in her eyes, but she could not find anything to demean him with.

Nobody noticed anything. Her aunt was still acting as she always did, her friends always chattering away about one thing or the other, her mother always smiling. To them, everything was just as it should be.

-

When he said he was going away to college, she didn't know how she was to survive. Their matches together were the only things preventing her from breaking down in tears and destroying everyone's image of a happy girl. But when he told her, she smiled and congratulated him and wished him luck.

That night, she burrowed herself deep into her covers and cried herself to sleep, silencing her sobs as to not wake up the other occupants of the house.

-

She didn't want to go to the party they were hosting to congratulate him. She didn't want to say goodbye. But when her mother called her to come down so they could go, she went, grinning as usual, Hikaru in her hands.

They arrived just on time, helping to set up the very last of the decorations. Just as they planned, Oujirou was led into the room and showered with hugs and laughter and other such things. Misaki stood in a corner, listening forlornly to the music in the background and cheerful chattering of everyone. There had been a layer set up, and some people challenged each other. Soon, everyone was enamored in the fighting; no one noticed when she slipped out into the backyard, gazing up at the night sky.

"You don't like it?" his voice broke into her thoughts.

She blinked at him, "Don't like what?"

"The party. You haven't said much tonight," he said. His eyes drew her in once more, just like on the layer.

She quickly grinned, "Oh, no, it's wonderful! I was just... a little tired tonight. I wanted to relax a little, so I came out here. I should probably go back in now."

He smiled at her, "No, stay. I'd like some company."

She nodded, masking the confusion with a grin. They stood together for a moments without end, each an eternity that Misaki knew she was cherish forever. Finally, he spoke.

"I'll come back, Misaki. Even if it takes forever." He turned to meet her wide eyes with his own. Somehow, his lips were so close to hers, his breath grazing her skin as he went on. "Will you wait for me, Misaki?"

No words came out at first. But when her lips finally did form them, she felt that somehow, they were the right ones.

"Forever and a day."

His lips touched hers. A chaste kiss. A promise made. The touch of an angel's wings.

"Thank you."


End file.
